The Culture Soup Podcast®️ Podcast By L Michelle Smith cover art

The Culture Soup Podcast®️

The Culture Soup Podcast®️

By: L Michelle Smith
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This show airs in 70+ countries and boasts more than 315 episodes. It can be streamed on Apple Podcast and is in audio and video formats and it can also be hear whereever fine podcasts stream. It's where tech, culture and business collide. Executive producer, host and creator L. Michelle Smith has been interviewing her friends that exemplify innovation and thought leadership at the intersection of tech, culture and business, and sometimes, she shares her own thoughts based on trending conversations and hashtags. Called one of the best Black podcasts to binge by BLAVITY & AfroTech and listed as one of the podcasts you can't miss by Black Enterprise, binge it now.Copyright 2026 The Culture Soup Podcast®️ Biographies & Memoirs Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Social Sciences
Episodes
  • TCU Call and Response Conversation with Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones

    TCU Call and Response Conversation with Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones
    Mar 20 2026
    There is something powerful about returning to a university campus to talk about leadership. At Texas Christian University, our conversation around Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing and JVL Media) was not just about a book. It was about formation. It was about where leadership really begins. About the spaces that quietly shape courage, discipline, and voice long before someone earns a title. The conversation was sponsored by the TCU Brite Divinity School and the TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communication, my graduate alma mater and where I currently serve on the Board of Visitors. We explored the idea that the Black Church has functioned as a leadership laboratory for generations. Not simply as a place of worship, but as a place where people learned to speak with conviction, collaborate across differences, regulate emotion under pressure, and lead with both authority and empathy. Grateful to TCU for hosting a rich, honest exchange. If your campus or organization is thinking about the future of leadership, I would love to continue the conversation.
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    1 hr and 50 mins
  • EP. 200: Call and Response Conversation at TCU w/Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones

    EP. 200: Call and Response Conversation at TCU w/Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones
    Mar 19 2026
    Show Notes: Call & Response at TCU — A Conversation on Culture, Leadership, and Legacy At Texas Christian University’s Carr Chapel, L. Michelle Smith returned to her alma mater for a powerful conversation on Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, joined by Rev. Dr. Shonda Jones, Executive Vice President and Dean of Brite Divinity School. What unfolded was more than a book talk. It was a rich exploration of how culture, history, and applied science intersect to shape leadership in profound and often unrecognized ways. Drawing from both personal story and rigorous research, Michelle shares how her leadership journey began long before corporate boardrooms, tracing back to her formative years in the Black church, where young people were given real responsibility early. That early formation became the foundation for the leadership capabilities she would later see reflected in high-performing Black executives across industries. The conversation explores: The Black Church as the original leadership incubator A space where communication, accountability, resilience, and community-building were not taught theoretically, but practiced in real time. The research behind the framework Insights drawn from 155 high-performing Black leaders, combining qualitative interviews with quantitative data to identify the most impactful leadership lessons. Resilience redefined Moving beyond endurance to a more nuanced understanding grounded in neuroscience, including the process of naming, processing, and reframing adversity. Culture as a leadership engine How traditions like storytelling, music, and intergenerational connection shape leadership capacity and emotional intelligence. A critical leadership gap The declining participation of younger generations in the Black church and what that means for the future leadership pipeline. Heart-centered leadership in a changing world In a time marked by workplace disruption, AI acceleration, and shifting expectations of leaders, the need for leaders who can combine performance with empathy, courage, and community-building has never been greater. Throughout the conversation, one idea becomes clear: the leadership lessons cultivated in the Black church are not confined to the church. They are transferable, teachable, and urgently needed across corporate, academic, and community spaces. This conversation is an invitation to rethink where leadership is formed, how it is practiced, and what it will take to develop leaders with both strength and heart in the future. Key Takeaway Leadership is not only learned in formal institutions. It is shaped in culture, reinforced through experience, and now, increasingly, understood through science. Learn More Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church Explore the book and leadership resources at: lmichellesmith.com
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • The Call and Response Conversation w/ Cynt Marshall

    The Call and Response Conversation w/ Cynt Marshall
    Mar 6 2026
    If you couldn't be in the room, now's your chance to be a part. TOMORROW at noon, Thursday, March 5 we'll be streaming video of the kickoff to the Call and Response book tour that happened at the Barnes & Noble bookseller at Hillside Village on multiple platforms. It will be featured here on Linkedin, so grab your colleagues, family and friends and bring a journal: Cynt Marshall and I will be holding class, a different kind of Sunday School, not about religion, and not on a Sunday. It's all about a leadership revival during a time where harsh leadership trends, values misalignment, character failures and more are breaking trust at every level in business and beyond. Return to heart-centered leadership with us on The Culture Soup Podcast, because episode 199 is the live recording of that Feb 11th book event. It's guest hosted by my friend and former colleague Neil Foote of Foote Communications. Settle in for the hour, and light up the chat. I'll be in the chat live to answer your questions. The video and audio will also stream across all podcast platforms beginning at noon as well. Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church is a collaboration between Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing and JVL Media, the brainchild of the incomparable Viola Davis, Julius Lennon and Lavaille Lavette. Purchase your copy or audiobook ahead of the stream and follow along as we go!
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    1 hr and 38 mins
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